Mongolia’s water woes threaten economy

The resource-rich country’s battle for water pits its people against mining and agriculture interests

By Oliver Bach / The Guardian

Illustration: Mountain People

The sight of foreign faces in Ulan Bator used to turn heads. Now, they are two-a-penny as the once remote Mongolian capital is quickly becoming a hotspot for international investors. If successfully exploited, the country’s rich mineral deposits could see its economy more than double over the next two decades.

However, impinging on that rosy picture is the tricky question of water availability. The Central Asian country suffers from extremes in seasonal runoff, local water stress and chronic deficits.

“In the coming two decades, water demand is expected to triple even as water suppliers are shrinking,” according to 2030 Water Resources Group, which predicts a 244,000m3 per day water deficit by the end of the next decade.

The link between water stress and mineral exploitation is where much of the concern lies. A substantial proportion of Mongolia’s copper and gold reserves happen to be found in its driest spot: South Gobi. Rainfall in the desert area ranges between zero and a measly 50mm per year.

A range of potential infrastructure options is on the table: One of the most ambitious would see Mongolia pump in water via a 600km pipeline from the Orphon River in its northern region. Yet at US$550 million, the project’s price tag puts its viability in doubt.

Desalination represents another outside option. However, question marks hang over whether landlocked Mongolia has the deep pockets or the hydrological conditions to make that happen.

For the moment, the onus is on mining companies making their operations as water-efficient as possible. For example, the World Bank-backed International Financial Corporation recently initiated a water-management program with most of the major mining operators in South Gobi. Among its early products is a pilot training package for companies on best practices.

“There’s a lot to be shared and gained by visiting each other’s projects and setting among ourselves the height of each other’s bar,” said Mark Newby, environment manager for Rio Tinto’s huge Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in South Gobi.

Oyu Tolgoi, which came on stream last year, is touted as a benchmark for the industry. The US$6.2 billion project draws all its water from a 560km2 aquifer about 400m below the desert’s surface. More than two-thirds of its water use is reclaimed, recycled and then reused. High-efficiency tailings thickeners and reclaim processes account for the largest proportion of water savings at the mine, which employs a zero-water discharge policy.

From the beginning, Rio Tinto realized that water efficiency would make or break the project, Newby said.

“[Water is] a fossil resource and if it’s to be used up unreasonably quickly, then that just ends the mine life earlier,” he said.

The mine is expected to use up one-fifth of the aquifer’s 6.8 billion cubic meters during its projected 27-year lifespan, according to Rio Tinto’s calculations.

Campaign groups say that Oyu Tolgoi could jeopardize local water availability, but Rio Tinto maintains that an impermeable layer above its main aquifer separates the brackish water that it extracts from the cleaner, shallower water on which locals depend. The company has also installed sensors in more than 30 area wells and has trained local herders in their use, promising them real-time data on water levels.